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Scientology library: “Judge Paul G. Breckenridge Jr.”

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For more than 25 years, the IRS denied tax-exemption to the Church of Scientology. The long-running policy flowed from an IRS determination in 1967 that Scientology was in fact a commercial entity operated solely for the benefit of founder L. Ron Hubbard. In 1993, seven years after Hubbard's death, the IRS made a puzzling and highly suspicious reversal. It settled its tax bill with Scientology for just $12.5 million and conferred on it the title of tax-exempt "religion." Both the Wall ...

Scientology Edited by James R. Lewis (Oxford University Press, £18.99) THE clock starts striking 13 very early in this book, which claims to consider Scientology from a standpoint of scholarly objectivity. In the opening essay, "Birth of a Religion", J. Gordon Melton sets out "an overview of the life of L. Ron Hubbard anchored by the generally agreed facts". The general tone can be deduced from his conclusion: "After a suitable pause to acknowledge the founder's life and accomplishments, the church ...

A former member and longtime critic of the Church of Scientology has been ordered by a Marin County judge to pay the church $500,000 for speaking out against the controversial religious movement. Superior Court Judge Lynn Duryee issued that order in a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Scientology defector Gerald Armstrong. The Church of Scientology had sought $10 million from Armstrong, who joined the church in 1969, left the fold in 1981 and later became one of the movement's harshest critics. He was ...

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Dec 6, 1998 - "I am L. Ron Hubbard," the woman on the hotel room bed announced in a robotic voice. "I created time 3 billion years ago." She rambled on and on, every outburst dutifully scribbled down by those assigned to watch her. "I can't confront force . . . I need my auditor . . . I want to take a toothbrush and brush the floor until I have a cognition." The jargon of Scientology was ...

(Gerry Armstrong is my friend now that we are both out of Scientology, and I have already told him this story. I have told him how sorry I am for my part in trying to destroy him when I was still an OSA staff member. I’ve told several other people this story as well, and they have urged me to share it because it is such a classic illustration of how far DM and his cronies are willing to ...

It was a strange way to describe an aspect of a theology. But L. Ron Hubbard, the highly successful science-fiction writer who founded the Church of Scientology in the 1950s, had little tolerance for those who challenged his beliefs. And so it was, at one time, that Scientology scripture came to include an unusual litigation clause: "The only way to defend anything is to attack, and if you ever forget that, then you will lose every battle you are ever engaged ...

[Picture / Caption: RESOLUTION — "I think the judge just wanted to bring an end to this case," says Graham E. Berry, right, with Gordon J. Calhoun.] For years, the Church of Scientology has been synonymous with bitter litigation battles. But the 40-year-old religious organization, long known for its aggressive legal tactics, threw in the towel recently on a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles that it had been waging against two critics. Besides serving as a legal setback, the action in ...

The Church of Scientology uses private detectives and bulldog litigators to pursue its numerous detractors. It also hires low-key establishment lawyers who work quietly within the system. So who is directing the $416 million libel suit against Time? On April 27, 1992, lawyers for the Church of Scientology International filed a $416 million libel action in federal court in New York against Time Warner, Inc., Time Inc. Magazine Company [Time Warner is a partner in American Lawyer Media, L.P.], and writer ...

Petrolia — A few miles outside of this coastal community, a massive 400-foot subterranean vault constructed of steel and concrete lies beneath a peaceful knoll overlooking the Pacific. The breadth and dimension of the vault stagger the imagination: 100 feet longer than a football field and 20 feet in diameter, the two-story sarcophagus is almost complete. It is designed to withstand the ravages of nature as well as man-made destruction. Humboldt County is now home to one of the most impregnable ...

Hubbard's image was crafted of truth, distorted by myth. To his followers, L. Ron Hubbard was bigger than life. But it was an image largely of his own making. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge put it bluntly while presiding over a Church of Scientology lawsuit in 1984. Scientology's founder, he said, was "virtually a pathological liar" about his past. Hubbard was an intelligent and well-read man, with diverse interests, experience and expertise. But that apparently was not enough to satisfy ...

The Church of Scientology's genesis was the 1950 best seller by L. Ron Hubbard, "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health." Church officials claim there are 7 million Scientologists worldwide, but former members allege there may be fewer than 100,000. The church promotes Scientology as a religion — one not based on the worship of a god but on the belief in "scientific" principles applied to the mind. Hubbard argued in "Dianetics" that inner turmoil springs from subconscious mental images, or ...

The year was 1976, one year after the Church of Scientology had secretly moved its spiritual headquarters to Clearwater, and Mayor Gabe Cazares was complaining too loudly for the church's comfort. So, as documents seized by the FBI would later show, the church's Clearwater office devised a scheme to "ruin Mayor Gabriel Cazares' political career by spreading scandal about his sex life." Church officials came up with ways to get Cazares' school records, birth records, anything — from checking with the ...

Panorama's investigation into the Scientologists revealed an organisation which uses its founder's 'mixture of half-practical, half-gobbledegook psychological techniques' to draw large sums of money from its adherents, with threatening consequences if they opt out. Religious cults are a problem. They enslave the minds and empty the pockets of gullible young people, causing heartfelt grief to their families. The Moonies, the Children of God and the other cults have a poor public image, but they almost always operate within the law. The ...

Description of video is in italics. VO=VOICEOVER shot of Church of Scientology, Los Angeles; apparently group of ex-members VOICEOVER: The Church of Scientology, one of the largest and richest new religious movements, is being sued for a billion dollars by former members for fraud and breach of trust. They regard Scientology as a dangerous cult. group of Scientologists VO: Yet the church goes on expanding, making converts and claiming it is "The Road to Total Freedom". ''"Panorama" opening credits; while music ...

Breach of Faith? One particular church policy has been partially at the root of the fear and anger: Scientology's alleged use of personal information in members' "confidential" Pre-Clear (PC) folders information confessed during auditing. There is substantial evidence that this information has been culled, perhaps to pressure members either into staying in the church or into not criticizing the church if they do leave. Although Hoden denies such practices ("In all my years here, I have never known of any such ...

The state Supreme Court yesterday allowed a former Church of Scientology official to obtain church records in a suit against the group. None of the six justices taking part in the case voted to grant a hearing on the church's claim that the documents were records of church confessionals taken under a promise of confidentiality. Chief Justice Rose Bird did not participate in the case. The action lifts the court's order of September 10 blocking release of the records of "audits," ...

About 400 members of the Church of Scientology's Crusade for Religious Freedom picketed the Los Angeles County Courthouse on Thursday, protesting what they consider to be court infringement on their constitutional right to religious freedom. In a unique courthouse scene, more than half the group lined a hallway five deep on each side outside the courtroom of Judge Paul G. Breckenridge Jr. during a hearing on former Scientologist Gerald Armstrong's $60-million fraud suit against the church. The disparate group, which included ...

About 400 members of the Church of Scientology's Crusade for Religious Freedom picketed outside the Los Angeles County Courthouse today and stood in a silent hallway vigil during a court hearing on former member Gerald Armstrong's $60-million fraud suit against them. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul G. Breckenridge Jr., who last year absolved Armstrong of stealing documents from the church, said he would rule later on Armstrong's request to see statements he made to an "auditor" when he joined the ...

The U.S. government won access Monday to six sealed letters and memos concerning the Church of Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and failed in its attempt to see 11 others. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul G. Breckenridge Jr. had placed the 17 items under seal in June at the end of a civil trial in which he absolved former church archivist Gerald Armstrong of taking documents belonging to the organization. He sealed the items largely because they involved ...

In May 2008, Ron Sharp's hard work consisting of over 1260 FrontCite tagged articles were integrated with this library. There are more contributors to this library. This library currently contains over 6000 articles, and more added everyday from historical archives.